The New Sound

“Tangerine” Yemi Alade (feat. Selebobo) I recently happened upon Yemi Alade 's music (by way of losing too much time to YouTube), which instantly became the soundtrack to my summer. Yemi Alade’s music is a humid combination of Afro-Pop, Caribbean, R&B, and Dancehall, among other genres. But above all else, Yemi Alade’s music is about the beat.  One of my favorite songs is “Tangerine” which features Selebobo (who is also responsible for producing the song). The song was released as a single on April 14, 2014 and was included on Yemi Alade’s debut album, King Of Queens , which was released October 2, 2014. (Source: wikipedia ) “Tangerine” stumbles in like Gene WIlder’s WIlly Wonka… seemingly wobbly and unstable, only to right itself into an impressive, complicated, and restless groove. The introduction itself mirrors Selebobo’s own stuttering “S-S-Selebobo on the beat” tagline.  Synths energetically swarm around the buoyant beat like excitable hummingb

"Diamond"  Qri (of T-ARA) I cannot stop listening to this little three minute breezy bop. It has bored itself fairly deep into my brain in a surprisingly short amount of time.  The song is a study in contradictions. The production is both crisp and woozy. The title is vapid but the lyrics dark and existential. The vocal performance is both casually indifferent and pleadingly desperate.  The song begins with a muted indecipherable wail. This wail brings to mind religious moans... an attempt to express something beyond the capability of words. This is cut off by a stuttering synthesized bass line introducing the airtight and surprisingly restrained production. A carefree synthetic baseline bounces throughout the song, creating a wobbly foundation for the layered vocals and sputtering snares. The wordless wail from the intro persists throughout the song. Weighing it down with a disconcerting weariness. Lest the song bounce away. An appreciated examp

The Basics Let’s get the basic basics out of the way: Yes. I know I am late to the Red Velvet Party. Sleep. Yes. Red Velvet are slaying.  Yes. I am snatched. Yes, these are my own thoughts, opinions, interpretations, and experiences (except where noted). Yes, I may be off-base, and you may strongly disagree with me. And that is okay. K-Pop I had no prior knowledge of the behemoth that is the Korean Pop music machine when I first forayed into K-Pop some time in 2016. In hindsight, I didn’t stand a chance against this addicting creature. For a long time, though, I mistakenly considered K-Pop to be somewhat of a novelty item. The occasional catchy and kitschy pop confections would temporarily draw my attention. But like chewing gum that quickly loses its flavor, there was no lasting impact.  Despite that erroneous and myopic perspective, I kept finding myself drawn to the production quality of K-Pop. It seemed the sound engineers and producers knew what